The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said Chinese private sector companies had pledged an additional investment of 70 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy. Kachikwu said this while addressing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said that the Council was briefed on the outcome of the ministry’s China roadshow which took place in January.
He said that 70 billion dollars pledges were different from the pledges that were made earlier when President Buhari visited China “which was an all African type front basis; this is completely separate”. He announced that the ministry’s investment target in China was initially to raise 40 billion dollars, which was the total cost of the nation’s infrastructure gap for the oil industry.
He said that the China roadshow, however, raised pledges of over 70 billion dollars for NNPC and government related potential investments and loans facility. The minister added that it would be a great achievement If the country could realise at least 20 per cent of the pledges. Kachikwu disclosed that a 40-man business team from China would arrive in the country later in October. According to him, some of the facility lines close to about four billion dollars, out of the 70 billion dollars pledges, are almost readily available as investment packages to the Nigerian economy. Read the full story here.